Punishment Game
by sparklytrashbag
Summary: Faced with consequences of the sin that she committed in her past life, Kaguya felt as if she carries the weight of the world upon her shoulders. But how does that matter? To everyone else, Kaguya is just a strange, little girl, who knows a little more than she should.
1. Chapter 1: An Introduction

**Some warnings: Suicide mention, minor cursing.**

 **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, which is quite obvious since this is a fanfiction site.**

* * *

 **WATER.**

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 _She was drowning, water flooding up her nose, her mouth – flooding up her lungs._

 _It was all voluntary; she wanted to end her life, and yet here she was panicking and regretting and despairing._

 _"The water **burns** ," she thinks, grabbing at her chest, grabbing at nothing._

 _Her body was too stiff, warped in an awkward posture. Pressure on her chest, and her insides burning up she knows one thing; no turning back now._

 _"This sucks."_

 _And that was all she could think before a stray thought floated in the midst of her unconsciousness,_

 _"I don't want to die."_

* * *

 **NOVEMBER 19TH, 1986.**

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It was the shock of cold air that woke her up.

She felt tiny, with the large, warm hands firmly carrying her, something synthetic feeling on her slimy skin. With a shiver, she felt that she was promptly dried and bundled up in a soft towel. She was then set down on something comfortable, most likely a bed.

There was no mother to greet her.

"Kaguya. That is your new name, little one."

* * *

 **5 YEARS AFTER BIRTH. EVENING.**

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 _Is this punishment for what I've done in my past life?_ I thought, numbly washing every speck and fleck left on the floor, with Old Lady Olga furiously watching at my back.

"If I see even a _single_ particle of dirt, by Jove, Kaguya you might as well not even be fed at all!" Olga hissed, her dark eyes flashing at me, "Do that stunt again and I _swear..._ …."

Ah. Yes. I had attempted escaping from this hellhole of a place, at least for a break.

 _'Some break; leaving the orphanage for almost a whole day?'_

But I can't help it. Babbling children, making grabby postures with their grubby, saliva covered, germ covered hands; children are children, who could blame me? And then there was Old Lady Olga – fuck her too.

Either way, it has been 5 years since my discovery of my dislocation – otherwise meaning that I had died and reincarnated into a new world. It had been hard to accept at first, that I'm now a puny slobbery kid again and that I died meaninglessly, but over time, I learned not to look into it too much, however much it was unacceptable for me.

Maybe I'll get a better life here, in this new world.

"HAHAHA! Kaguya got in _trouble_ ~" said some-kid-I-didn't-give-two-cents-about-who-their-name-was-called, their voice set in an annoyingly provoking tone.

 _Maybe if I get out this hellhole first._

I try to unscrunch my face, turning to answer to Olga, and in the sweetest voice I could muster, I said, "I _promise_ I wouldn't do it again _Miss Olga_."

"Oh please! This is the _fifth_ time that you had the audacity to promise me a promise that won't be kept! And what does that have to say about yourself, huh?!" Old Lady Olga retorted, her face twisted in an ugly frown, marks and wrinkles that clearly state her age.

"Wash the dishes when you're done," she said turning to leave, mumbling something that sounds suspiciously like _'troublemaking little bitch...'_

I push away my coal colored bangs, quickly finishing up the job of cleaning up the floors, and then making a move for the kitchen for my final chore, bringing a stool with me as I go. I ignore the children and their teasing _'ooooooohhhhh, auuhhhs'_.

Kids will always be kids.

I swear, after all of this, my fingers will end up staying as pale raisins permanently, all because of that _stupid bitch-ass_ _rotten Olga_.

It's not like I genuinely hate her though. I just dislike her enough to cuss her out in my breath. And I can't truly blame her either, not when she has to take care of a bunch of squabbling, too energetic children, with the orphanage here incredibly understaffed to boot.

Come to think of it, the whole orphanage is _weird_ – actually the whole area I've explored so far, maybe even the _whole world_ , is just downright _weird_. There was only a little sense of consistency here, seeing some advanced technology, some of what can be considered useless or outdated from my past life, odd traditions and cultures, and so on and so forth. Even then, something was oddly familiar about this place, despite it feeling close to being a completely different planet, giving off a strange sense of heaviness.

I felt like an alien here, as this world might as well exist in a different dimension or what not, and I happened to be misplaced into it, rather than the afterlife.

' _I've had enough with my thoughts for now,_ ' I thought to myself, putting away the last of the dishes.

I step down from the stool as I take a bite out of the stolen stale bread, stashed within my pockets, and left for bed, waiting for another tomorrow, ignoring the hunger pains I felt from the lack of food as I slept.

* * *

 **DREAMING.**

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When I slept, I dreamt of shadows.

But that lasted for a little more than a minute until the shadows begun to reveal themselves to be a Victorian styled living room; book shelves, plush pillows, and all. It was somewhat hard to see, even though there was lighting from the fire place. It became too real to be dream.

My attention was caught to the odd, humanoid entity sitting on top of a somewhat grand looking plush chair. It was stark against the light of the light of the fireplace, it being darkest colored and grim looking thing in such a grand room.

I take my time studying it. The entity was tall, somewhat thin although it took up much space on its seat. Its face looks to be made of shadows, even with the hood it had over its head, leaving much to the imagination. The black cloak it was wearing covered its body in its entirety, from neck to toe. Only a single lithe, boney arm was sticking out from under its cloak, holding a wine glass filled generously with milk. Odd, for something that has no mouth, or any facial feature at all actually.

"Why, hello there _Elaine_. Or should I call you Kaguya?" it said, in its whispery, sinister voice.

I shook myself out of my musings, "Call me Kaguya. The name Elaine has no meaning to me now."

"I see. Take a seat. Would you like a treat?" it said, its thin, stick-like fingers slowly holding out a cookie.

I don't sit down on one of the loveseats, finding this awfully suspicious. I politely say no. "Who are you? Are you death? Why am I here?" Unusually courageously, I asked.

"Firstly, you should already know that death is just an end phase for all living beings; I myself am just an overseer. I have come to access judgement upon you, for the deeds that you have done." It said, authoritatively. It's deep voice grew more sinister, more ominous as it continued, "Most of what you've done in your past life as Elaine was minor, however, the most major deed that you, yourself have consciously done to lead you to where you are, was suicide."

Its towering frame leaned towards me, staring into my seafoam eyes, "Do you understand what this means, _Kaguya_?"

I grit my teeth and clench my fists, ready to fight, yet instinctively knowing that it would be no use against the ethereal being in front of me.

"What's that supposed to mean you? You have no business in what I do with my life!"

It was patronizing me.

" _Oh_. But I _do_. I am an overseer after all, and overseers must obey the laws given to every one of us, just as you must obey yours. It is our meaning in simply existing." It said, in a way that I think it's sneering at me. "But back to business. I am here to inform you that the punishment that we have chosen would be that you play the game of life, or otherwise the punishment game."

I was starting to panic, breaking out in cold sweat as the shadows began slowly overcoming the living room again.

It continued, "I have granted your wish of being alive again – _however_ , included in the punishment game, you must complete and go through many trials in your new life, all the while under the conditions of the game."

I felt hands gripping on my legs – my arms. I kneel down shakily, trying to ground myself. "Oh god."

"Now, there _is_ something I should most probably tell you, about your existence," it chuckled, taking a quick sip at its milk. "But perhaps it's better if you see it for yourself, playing along with the game."

And then it grinned, its shadowy skin pulling back to show an ugly skeleton face. It looked more like it was bearing its teeth.

"How rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself."

Before I was pulled into the darkness, three final words came from the being that I have slowly began to hate.

"Call me Morty."

* * *

 **Hello everyone. This is my first fanfic. Although I feel like I didn't write enough and this chapter is horribly short, I'll update soon!**

 **A character intro thingy, just to get an image:**

 **Kaguya - Current Age: 5. Has coal black hair and seafoam eyes. No parents. Past life name: Elaine. Very bitter. And terribly short.**


	2. Chapter 2: Demonstration

**Some warnings: _Very vague_ suicide mention, some cursing. Also some violence and little gore. I don't think its _all that_ descriptive tho. Hopefully. idk it 2 am i am tireeeddd**

 **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, which is quite obvious since this is a fanfiction site.**

 **EDIT: Major edits done here. Sort of. Jeez I think I made this chapter a little too long...**

* * *

 **0.**

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I wake with a start, falling off the bed as I do so.

Bad dream. Bad headache. And I'm off the bed.

I take the moment to brush through my hair with my fingers. Bad hair day.

Bad omen.

Sliding lower onto the rough, wood floor, I attempt to orient myself with the real world. I do my quick morning ritual, taking deep breaths and exhaling.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, inhale. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, exhale.

The wood is wood, the birds are chirping, the sky is blue, and the sun is shining brightly.

Very obnoxiously brightly.

Ugh, why won't the sun shut up?

"KAGUYAAAAA! OLD LADY OLGA WANTS YOU!" a voice loud enough to blow my ear drums yelled. I nursed my head.

Why can't everyone shut up?

A tired sigh and a quick ' _Coming!_ ' I quickly grab on some clean clothes for the day, a short-sleeved shirt and some ratty, khaki shorts, and pull them on, never mind brushing my teeth at this point. When Olga wants you, she _wants_ you. And when you're me, a five year old with an adult mind (or in Olga's eyes, looking intelligent enough)…you know what I mean.

Running through the orphanage dorm hallways, I could already see that much of the kids here are already gone from their rooms, seeing that most of the doors are opened, showing empty rooms. Ready for the day, already? No matter, I got more errands to do.

I step down the stairs one by one, careful not to slip down because of my short stature, meeting up with Olga and some other kid at the bottom.

 _Come to think about it, why isn't this lady fired and replaced already? Or rather, who even let this lady even work here in the first place?_

"What's up old lady?" I tiredly say, combing through my short, tangled black hair, grabbing the food boxes from Old Lady Olga as I go. Smells like the porridge and bread from yesterday. Yay.

Vaguely hearing a _'Don't 'what's up old lady,' me, rude!'_ , I take a quick look at the kid standing beside her, who looks a bit reserved, with a hint of nervousness. Curly auburn hair and warm, hazel eyes, round, cherub face, and a cute button nose I catalogued. He's thin, but still having some baby fat, and very tall, maybe at least a foot taller than me. Eight year old sized. Smells like a newbie.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Olga yelled, tugging on my ear with the force of a thousand horses. God, why is everyone here so damned strong?

"OW OW OW OW! LADY YOU'RE KILLING MY EAR!" I cried, holding onto my poor ear.

"Now listen here, I want you to take our new orphan here, Pasha, and work through some errands outside of the orphanage." She huffed, causally handing over a large list of errands, as well as some money, which in all honesty no normal five year should be trusted to be handed such things. Then again…

She turns to Pasha, newly dubbed Newbie in my head, and with a quick smile, continued, "Now, be a dear Pasha and keep watch of Kaguya. Make sure you two come back by afternoon."

"And _you_ ," Olga sharply turns to me with a terse smile, "Make sure you show Pasha around the village. I sure don't want him to get lost as _many times as you make the same excuse each time you come home late_."

"Now, run along children!" she says pushing us towards the front door. She slams the door shut once we're at least two steps into the humid outside. My pits are already sweating.

* * *

 **OUTSIDE. VILLAGE MARKET.**

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Newbie seemed normal enough. We were at least a couple blocks away from the orphanage, and Newbie tries to introduce himself as a way to distract from the awkward atmosphere.

"Um, hi, my name's Pasha. I'm seven years old. Nice ta meetcha. You?" the boy said, looking at me.

Playing along, I answer, "Uh, my name's Kaguya. I'm five years old. Spent much of my life in the orphanage from what I can remember. I would ask you to call me by some nickname, but honestly my name is un-nickname-able. Back to you newbie."

"Came here to the orphanage 'cause my sister left me. No parents. I like strawberries. You?"

…..

I make a face, scrunching up a little.

Ehhhh…that was pretty…..blunt. But okay. So he likes strawberries.

"No parents too, I guess. Banana bread's my favorite food. You?"

He tilts his head to the side, "What's banana bread?"

"Banana flavored bread. You should try it sometime, if Old Lady Olga ever cooks it that is. Go on, you?"

He answers, and we play this game of 'insert something about yourself, you?' until we finally reach to a companionable silence, getting what was needed on the list and so on and so forth. He's quite calm and collected, for a 7 year old.

Which is weird.

It was nice in the very least, showing Newbie around, and in return, some help with the goods.

Although, I could do without having to vaguely feel like as if he's treating me like some damned cutie patootie.

'Hey, do you need help with that?' and 'Hey, do you need help with this?' like damn, I CAN DO IT MYSELF GOSH DANG IT.

"Hey, Kaguya, are you sure you don't need help with that?" he says, for the umpteenth time.

A quick sharp turn to him I said stubbornly, "Yep! I'm PERFECTLY fine and there's NO need to worry-"

I cut myself off, realizing I screwed up; I shouldn't have moved so quickly. The world tilted on its axis and I face-planted onto the filthy, dirt floor, all of my stubbornness wasted.

"See? With ya shortness, there's no way you would survive with some help, experience or no. Learn to accept some help, will ya?" Newbie said, shaking his head. He picks up some of the fallen goods, taking the list from my tiny hands.

"As the big kid, it's my duty to help little birdies like you." He said in such a confident way, nose in the air.

He walks ahead, struggling a little less than I had with the good, turning back only to tell me to catch up.

 _'What good is there in having an adult mind, when you're stuck in a child's body?'_ I thought to myself. What use in these tiny limbs?

I pick myself back up, grabbing the rest of the goods, and ran to catch up to Newbie.

Skipping all the boring stuff we did throughout the day, it was on the last item on the list that I happened upon some rather, _informative_ information.

I was currently bartering with the village's local fisherman, who came back to his stall from some immersing conversation from a small group of merchants, seeing his latest customer to be me. Newbie decided to excuse himself, wanting in with the conversation. I eavesdrop a little catching a few words, something like 'hunters' and 'dangerous' or something. Animal hunting gone awry, or something?

That's a lot of somethings, I find. I turn back to the fisherman just to ask him what the group of merchants are talking about. Just being a little nosy.

"Ah, we were just talking about the Hunter Exam. One of the examinees happens to be one of our co-workers, coming back from his 3th time taking the exam. Honestly, I wonder why he's even alive trying to be a hunter; being a fisherman is fine, right?" The fisherman says, shaking his head.

Hunter Exam. What an oddly familiar name in an oddly unfamiliar world. Where had I heard of this word?

"Oi, kid," I turn my attention back, seeing that the fisherman is glaring at me, his hand outstretched, awaiting for money, "That will be 30 jennies."

I hand over the money and think to myself once more.

Hunter Exam. Jennies. Hunters….

 _Hunter x Hunter?_

"Hey mister! Can you tell me what's the Hunter Exam?" I asked politely.

The man looked at me incredulously, "You don't know the Hunter Exam?"

"….I _kinda_ do?" I tugged on my red shirt, a little miffed at the situation at hand. I think back to my dream last night. I died just to be reborn in Hunter x Hunter, some Japanese anime I haven't watched in years? This is my punishment?

"Come here." Says the fisherman, leading me over to the small group of merchants I mentioned earlier.

"Oi men!" Cue all the merchants plus Pasha the newbie, all looking right at me. "This kid here doesn't know a bloody heck about the Hunter Exam. Care to educate?"

They all started, ready to open a dam of words.

"One at a time, _please_?" the fisherman rolling his eyes, before suggesting, "How about we all go around clockwise?"

Pasha goes first.

"Kaguya, you didn't know what the Hunter Exam is?"

I shook my head. I mean, it's been a while since I've even seen Hunter x Hunter, right?

"Of course I don't, why would I even be here?"

Pasha grinned a little before starting, "Okay, well, the Hunter Exam is an exam filled with many dangerous obstacles, such as monstrous demon beasts-"

Merchant no. 1 continued, "Tricky puzzles and competition-"

"Generally a lot of things to test if you can be a Hunter!" Merchant no. 2 ended the sentence.

Merchant no. 3, "It's an exam like no other, only the best of the best-"

"Which is very few-"

"Having the likely hood of passing!"

That all seemed to deflate a little when they see that I wasn't too interested.

"Either way, it's a simple explanation of what's in the exam, kiddo," Merchant no. 3 says.

Still, I ask, "But what's a Hunter?"

My attention returns to fisherman when he simply explains, "It's an occupation with lots of opportunities. Being a Hunter allows you to travel as much as you want to, be as rich as you want, or be as happy as you want to, with whatever job opportunity being a Hunter allows. It's the whole point of the Hunter Exam; to get a license and become a Hunter, despite the risks it may pose."

"I'll have to say though," He continued, "If you two kiddos ever want to be hunters, I suggest you wait 'till you're older."

The fisherman looks at the sky for a moment, before pointingly turning to Pasha and I, "Aren't you two a little late to be out here?"

We both look at each other for a moment before taking our things and hurriedly going back to the orphanage.

A few blocks in, heading back to the orphanage, I look over to Pasha to see him look broody and somewhat dejected.

I tilt my head, "Something those merchants said?"

He huffs, "Personal stuff, which is none of your beeswax. I don' really wanna to talk about it."

"Are you sure?" I said concerned.

"Yeah."

In an attempt to coax some sort of answer, I said teasingly, "Are you suuuuurreee?"

"Yeah!"

"Suuuuuurrrrreeee?" I said a second time, and in a moment of distraction, I quickly went at him with the intent to tickle.

….

It became somewhat embarrassing when it turned out the kid wasn't ticklish.

But what I discovered from my failure of a tickling spree, was an unfamiliar bag full of money and items that clearly wasn't Pasha's, or mine, hiding under Pasha's shirt.

"Pasha, what the hell is this?" I say, keeping my hand holding the bag of stolen items as far from Pasha as I could, being a shortie.

Pasha swiped it back before I could keep it away from him again, "Kaguya, you don't- you don't just take something that's not yours idiot!"

I retorted, "Hypocrite, that baggie's clearly not yours either. What are you even doing with these?"

Pasha glared at me for a moment, before sighing obnoxiously.

I lean towards him for an answer, calmly saying, "Well?"

He clenches his hands, "Hunter Exam."

Ah. So Pasha wants to be a Hunter. Explains some things.

I look at him, more questioning and exasperated. He gruffly answers again, saying, ""Ya heard what that merchant said right? Being a Hunter, having a lot of opportunity? That means they can hav'a better future."

"So? Don't you have plenty of time?"

Suddenly, he bursted into an anger unforeseen, kneeling down as he cried, "NO! YOU DON'T GET IT!"

He takes a step back. "I DON'T WANT TO WAIT TO HAVE A FUTURE! I DON'T WANT TO WAIT 'TIL I PROVE MYSELF! PROVE MY SISTER! Prove everyone…."

It was only a moment later after his temper tantrum that he became the six year old he truly is, loudly crying crocodile tears, showing off his missing front teeth, his eyes slowly swelling red from the tears, boogers and slobber running down. What an ugly face.

Honestly, for someone who lives in an orphanage filled with gross kids, you'd think I'd have expertise in such a situation. I don't, even with a past life's worth of knowledge. Stuck in this wild predicament, I went with my instinct, and hugged the child close.

I was slowly regretting it, feeling the salty tears, and quite possibly boogers being wiped on my red shirt, disgustingly near my neck where he laid his head. Gently patting him on the back, I say consolingly, "What's this about proving yourself?"

He tries to stable himself, all hiccups, shaking, and shivering.

"Take your time." I say uncomfortable with the situation. I try not to rush him. Pasha's just a kid after all.

It took a few moments until he was stable again.

He rubbed at his eyes, and finally answered, "I wanna prove myself that I'm not u-uuu-ss"

"Useless." I cut him off, to correct his wording.

"Useless." He nods. "I wanna prove I'm not useless. Everyone thought I'm useless."

I scratch at my head. At those words, it became more obvious than it was earlier, that he came from an emotionally, maybe physically, neglectful upbringing. From his actions to his words.

I set my arms on his shoulders, my sea foam eyes looking at his hazel ones. "Well, starting from today, maybe instead of 'I'm useless' you should go with 'I was useless'."

"Was?"

"Yup. No use in looking back. Into the past I mean." I say, looking at the drooping sun. "Y'know, Pasha, a long time ago, I did something that was really bad long ago. I didn't know what to feel about it, because I had a lot of feelings about it."

Pasha looked at me in hesitance, "Do you still think about it sometimes?"

"I do, from time to time. But Pasha, it was a really long time ago. I needed to let go. Time heals, if you allow it to, of course."

I turn back to Pasha, "Doesn't that mean you have time to heal yourself? For the Hunter Exam?"

"Huh? What dos that hav'ta do with that?" Pasha looks at me uncertainly.

"Well, if you wanna be ready the Exam, in years to come, from those merchants' description of the exam, you'd think of being physically strong, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, why don't you become more mentally strong, like, stop being a crybaby, or, something. Learn to not be too surprised with anything coming at you." I say with some certainty.

"Oh! I think I get it, you're right!"

"Hell yeah I am. Also don't repeat that 'H' word I just said." I say a little more seriously, not taking the chance of getting in trouble, "I don't particularly see anything that special in the Hunter Exam; it kinda sounds like some elaborate scam. But whatever. Pasha, you do you, ok?"

Pasha nods, and pauses for a moment before realizing something.

"OWWAAA KAGUYA WE'RE LATE!"

"SHIT!"

* * *

 **ORPHANAGE. EVENING.**

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We were scolded by Old Lady Olga for almost half an hour, Pasha, for the first time, and me, for many times, not even counting when she's scolding me for being late. We ended up having to clean up areas around the orphanage, getting only little of what the other kids had for dinner. Of course, bad little me had to get teased, of course. I'm the bad kid of the house haha.

In the end, I ended up having to eat a bit of my saved up food box from earlier this morning. I gave the rest of it to Pasha; he's just an innocent kid who didn't really deserve any of the trouble.

Speaking of Pasha, I thought about what he said about the Hunter Exam.

 _'I guess it would be true that you'll get a future out of being a Hunter._ ' I thought to myself, looking through a window. ' _Better future than whatever this place has to offer me._ '

Money, riches, adventure, power. Happiness. All the things becoming a Hunter can offer me.

I retired for bed.

* * *

 **DYING.**

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It turns out that I didn't have to wait for tomorrow any longer.

I wake up to flames and ash, and I desperately tried to escape, hitting at the oddly thick window, with no success. And then I remembered, that kid, Pasha.

I try to escape with more vigor than before, taking as many objects as I could to smash my way out through the door, covering my nose and mouth with some cloth, in attempt to filter out the smoke. I make my way out, searching through many of the dorms upstairs in the orphanage looking for Pasha. Nothing.

Rooms upon rooms, nobody was around.

My eyes began to water, as I yelled and screamed for help, my throat raw, the air getting thicker and thicker, the heat becoming too unbearable.

I trip down the stairs, running, my ankle broken. I couldn't get up in time to escape from the roof that was starting to fall apart. Pain erupted in my abdomen, something sticking in me.

I let out a bloodcurdling scream. Red is leaking everywhere.

 _It hurts it hurts it hurts_

Had they all left without me? It seems so at this point.

 _They all forgot about me._

"Ah. Finally." Came the voice I least want to hear.

"See? Isn't it better to see for yourself, Kaguya?" Morty said, kneeling down to come at my level. "What a disaster to befall on something that doesn't belong. You see, from this 'demonstration', the world just throws at you things to punish your existence. Which is why it's called the punishment game, of course."

I screeched at him, unable to make words at this point.

 _"_ Oh don't worry. All will be explained once the first part of this demonstration is done. After all, there is a second part to this, dear Kaguya."

 _'Fucking bastard who do you think you are!'_ Tears running, boogers and slobber running down. Blood in great magnitudes running, _squeezing out of my oh god ohgod ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodoh_

"What an ugly face you are making."

Something began to creak and fall over me-

-And I promptly black out.

 _I'll be visiting you later for a quick 'tutorial'_

* * *

 **1.**

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I wake with a start, falling off the bed as I do so.

* * *

 **It's very late at night and I'm hungry lol. Also it's funny that my first review is some guy telling random peeps its the end of the world or something or whateva. Ultimately tho i'm kinda ehhhh about this chappie. like idk**

 **Oh well, I was never good with highs chool writing lol**

 **I forgot if there's anything else I wanted to say so I'll edit just it edit in later lol**

 **Enjoy this late night chappie**


	3. Chapter 3: One

**Warnings: A little bit of suicide mention. Cuz ya know**

 **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, which is quite obvious since this is a fanfiction site.**

* * *

 **MORNING. ORPHANAGE.**

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Oh hell. Fucking hell. What the shit-blasting hell.

Cold-sweated, shaking, and filled with lots of emotions, I lean over the toilet and puked out the contents in my stomach, bile burning my throat.

What the hell was that? I hold onto my stomach, color draining from my face. Did I just die again?

I flush the toilet, heading towards the sink. Looking into the mirror, I examined my face. Black coal hair and seafoam eyes. No change. I pull up my shirt. No injury; nothing.

Hastily, I thoroughly washed my crusty-throw-up face.

 _'Was that whole thing even real?'_

 **"Yes."**

I almost gave myself a whiplash, looking at the mirror to see a stranger.

Not a stranger. Old me. Same long brown hair parted in the middle, tucked behind the ear. Same plain round face and pale skin. She seemed more angular though, and instead of the brown eyes I used to have, what replaced it were black, empty sockets.

She was smiling knives at me.

"Are you done?"

I took several steps back, ready to scream, only- old me came out of the mirror to cup my mouth tightly, successfully keeping my screams of terror in.

"Hush. It's Morty here. Just in a new form, just to _spice_ things up. Splendid?" She- _it_ continued to slip out of the mirror, onto the bathroom floor. _It_ was wearing the same outfit that being, Morty, wore. Black coat and all.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I whisper-yelled, finding myself backing into a corner.

Morty huffed, "What's wrong with taking so much of my precious time to come and visit, in a physical form? And here I am, ready to give a quick tutorial. Disrespectful."

Before I could come up with a comeback, the bathroom door opened.

"Oi Kaguya! Lady Olga needs you!" Came the bratty voice.

The door was then slammed shut again.

Morty and its flesh sack impression of old me was gone.

 _'…..Tutorial?'_

* * *

 **TUTORIAL.**

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Creepily, the whole day started out just the same as before I died and woke up. Old Lady Olga scolding me and the meeting of the orphan newbie, Pasha. The only change came right after Pasha had left to speak with those merchants again.

Time suddenly stopped, everyone frozen in place. I meet the same holes for eyes from this morning.

"Greetings again, Kaguya." Morty said, pushing its imitation of my old brown hair behind its ears. Then, with a grand flourish with its hands, a fancy looking table, with a pair of chairs to match, materialized. "Let's start with our tutorial, yes?"

It proceeded to sit down, drinking what seems to be a reoccurring theme, milk.

"Would you like some milk?"

My hands clenched, I ignored its question, abruptly asking, "What did you mean by tutorial?"

It sipped its milk and chuckled, "Hmmm, well, a simple explanation of what's going to happen in the punishment game of course, in five simple rules. Let's begin with you taking a seat, please."

 _'Fine.'_ I sat myself down.

It raised its pointer finger, " **One**. Since you are but a foreign object in this world, being that you didn't belong here in the first place, much like an immune system in a living body, the world will have to try its best to, 'purge' you for your existence. Basically, try to kill you. Permanently. Remember back then?"

I tersely said yes. I didn't want to be reminded by what happened back then, though it's somewhat unbelievable the orphanage would self-combust into fire just because of my existence.

It continued, raising another finger, " **Two**. Since you are a foreign being in this world, you do not have the same qualities as the people of this word have."

 _'He must be talking about nen, then.'_ I mused. _'Wait a minute.'_

I found myself scrunching up my face in a look similar to pain. Fuck.

Ring finger. " **Three**. I'm sure you noticed that the world you're is considered a fictitious story from your world. Because our next rule is that, while surviving this whole, one of the whole main points of the game is that you MUST help the protagonists of this world face certain…..'Fates'. As given by the Higher Authorities, of course. I'll help you by keeping you informed. The Higher Authorities can pretty vague on what they want."

Pinky. " **Four**. To aid with your guidance of these protagonists, we will reset your time back to a certain date, depending on your actions, each time you 'die'. This is all nicely given by the Higher Authorities, so don't misuse it please."

Thumb. The last rule. " **Five**. If you **do not** follow these simple rules, you will face just and specific consequences for your actions."

I raised my eyebrows at that. Just and specific consequences? Very specific.

Pursing its hands in a business-like fashion, it said, "Now you sure are taking this quite well, somewhat. You may ask at most one question."

 _'THIS MOTHERTRUCKER.'_ I take a moment to stop myself from strangling the thing for so little I could get answered.

 _'What should I ask then….?'_

Rule four and five is self-explanatory (though rule five is pretty…questionable), and rule one…..not many questions about that then I guess…with my first death from that fire….

Ok, no gloomy thoughts. Rule two, definably got questions, rule three...I mean I got the basic gist of the Hunter x Hunter plot right? Gong, Kevin, Leonardo, and….yeah no. Oh well, the plot matters right?

Making up my mind I ask my question, "If I don't have nen like the people here do, even with the game's 'time travel' shebang going on, how am I even going to be able to do anything at all?"

It took little time in answering, prepared for such questions as it began, saying, "On your 'nen' problem, I'll provide insurance for you so long as you sign a contract with me. I'll be able to provide you a power similar to 'nen', as long as you follow with my conditions. We'll get through these things once you've finished your first task."

"Isn't that a little shady?" I say, more than a little miffed.

"Well, what can you do, powerless in such a tough world? Besides, I highly doubt you'll get through that first task without it." It said, creepily staring at me through its hole-eyes. I felt a sense of foreshadowing over me, running up my back.

Ugh. Fine. "Alright, okay. I get it, just, tell me what exactly this contract entails."

Suddenly, Morty brightened up, somehow making itself even more creepier than it was earlier. "Good! Now, you see, I am an overseer, and being an overseer isn't an easy job. Understand? Good."

I felt the beginnings of sweat.

"You are not the only person being overseen right now. There are many, just like you, who are on to due punishment, though depending on their past actions in their life of course. And with there being a limited number of overseers, I find that to be a lot of hard work." It stopped for a moment to sip its milk. "Anyways, I've decided, I'm going to be nice to you, with this contract. In exchange for power similar to 'nen', I'll have to lower your life expectancy here to that of how long you lived in your past life."

I found myself sweating buckets. _'How long I lived in my past life? I only lived until was what, twenty-something years old?'_

Morty stretched out its hand, glowing blue, in a gesture for a handshake, "Less work for me to focus on, and you'll get your power. And didn't you try to end your life back then? It's a win-win, you got yourself a deal?"

I place my focus onto the floor, breathing in and out, counting to 10, anything to calm myself down from the rush of mixed emotions I felt.

God. I've already ignored my past life for so long; lonely, sleepless nights in a shitty apartment, the boring, repetitive days where nothing gets done, a low wage job I didn't even like, endless invalidation, debt, lies; the unhappy realities of being an adult. Did I even try to be an adult back then?

Then I wake up here, with a better chance at life, only to have to deal with the consequences of what I've done.

I clench my hands. _'Why am I such a selfish bitch?'_

And I look up, back at the entity in the flesh bag of old me. I shake its hand.

"Deal."

And I felt fire consume me.

….

 ** _I'll have to make the most out of this mess._**

* * *

 **Tutorial over.**

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Time has gone back to what it was before. And in my hand, I find a note.

 _Dear Kaguya,_

 _Take a rest today; don't worry about the possibility of your orphanage getting set on fire. The world may be out to get you, but it won't always. Your first task is to give yourself some training done at a place called, "Heaven's Arena"._

 _You'll find a certain someone about your age to help you._

 _Sincerely Morty._

 _..._

That's still deeply worrying…

Still, mentally prepared, I went on with the day, repeating it like nothing had happened after all.

I plan on running far from this orphanage with my stuff by night.

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

 **ORPHANAGE. NIGHT.**

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

I've already packed up the items I needed. My clothes, some food, and some of Olga's money. Which I definitely didn't steal.

I make a move for the window, until I heard a voice.

"You're leaving too, aren't you?'

Turn and look. It's Pasha.

He looked down, and I was unable to see his hurt expression. "I know we only knew each other for only a day, but….. I thought we could be friends…."

"Pasha. We are friends. I guess." Ok, that doesn't really help. Good god, how did I even help this kid out before?

I decide to be more blunt, as I continue, "Listen, I have no promises in that we'll ever meet again, or that we'll ever even know each other much. Hell, it's just as you said, we've only just known each other for one day."

 _'More like two days…'_

"But, just like you, I'm planning to some sort of future of my own, in some other place than this orphanage or something, you get?"

From my position, standing on top of my bed, I lean over a bit as I give the kid a pat on his auburn head. He looks back at me, a burning sense of determination in his eyes.

"Once I become a Hunter, I'll find you!"

I found my face scrunching up a little.

"Pasha, I'm a terrible person. If anything, you shouldn't even talk to me at all, you naïve child!" I said scowling. This kid…..

"I'll still look for you!" he quietly exclaimed, his determination obnoxious to me. Looking through his pockets, his hand bought forth a simple looking bracelet, thin leather in circled with marble red beads. "Keep this, and remember me!"

I pocketed the bracelet, finding the gesture to be incredibly sweet. But then, should I at least give the kid something?

I searched through my pocket, the only thing I found was a pretty looking pink rock, which I found during one of my trips out from the orphanage. Eeeeehhhh…..

I gave the rock to the kid. "It's not much, but it's all got, if you still want to go look for me when I become a hunter…."

I straightened up, saying, "Don't tell anybody about what happened tonight, okay?"

Pasha nodded, "See ya, Kaguya."

"See you, kiddo."

* * *

Written on an old, torn paper, taped onto a random wooden pole, was the follow message.

 ** _MISSING ORPHAN_**

 _Name: KAGUYA. Gender: FEMALE. Age: 5 YEARS OLD._

 _Has short black hair, blue-green eyes, and pale skin, height about 38 to 40 inches. Most likely wearing a red shirt with worn khaki pants._

 _If found, call the village's local orphanage…._

* * *

 **Annnnnnd that's it. Sorry for the late update guys. I didn't really like how I wrote ch 2 so I had to like EDIT a lot of it. Give it a read, alright? Plus, I had to look and think over the general plot of the story… just to make sense out of it really…**

 **Also, a review of how the punishment game works:**

 **1.** **Kaguya's more likely to die from mysterious reasons because does originate in the world of hxh.**

 **2.** **Since she doesn't originate in hxh, she basically doesn't have nen, like the people of hxh.**

 **3.** **In addition to the above, she has to help the main protagonists of hxh in their misadventures basically, though it's more like helping them to their fates, good or bad (hint hint)**

 **4.** **Luckily, she can start over to a certain point in time, each time she dies…..**

 **5.** **If she doesn't do what she's supposed to do, she'll have to face severe, and _permanent_ consequences…**

 **Give me some feedback, will ya?**


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